Partners of Agrifields DMCC under scrutiny

By Swatantra Prabhat

On 10 Jan 2026 17:17:10

Partners of Agrifields DMCC under scrutiny

The controversial promoter of Agrifields DMCC — a rock-phosphate and fertiliser firm — Amit Gupta is coming under mounting pressure as the case pursued by the Australian Federal Police against him and his former organisation Getax progresses.

In an article by award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie of the Sydney Morning Herald — who twice won the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year and the Kennedy Award for Journalist of the Year — it is stated: “The US documents name Getax director Amit Gupta as the ‘target of a criminal investigation who is alleged to have conspired with others to bribe foreign public officials and to have engaged in money laundering and other offences’.”

In 2024, the Sydney Morning Herald and Nick McKenzie published another investigation, claiming that Gupta is an “alleged corporate crime kingpin and fugitive from justice has built a global business worth an estimated $800 million.” They also noted that “Documents show the federal police’s Getax investigation spent years tracking this global movement of funds. In 2020, the AFP moved to seize multiple properties and bank accounts connected to Gupta in Australia, Singapore and New York worth an estimated $200 million.” McKenzie further remarked, “Leaked corporate and banking documents reveal how Gupta’s companies generated a system of fictitious invoices and expenses to move money out of Australia, and how he avoided millions in Australian taxes”.

The Getax/Amit Gupta matter has become Australia’s largest bribery, taxevasion, money-laundering and corruption investigation, with hundreds of banks, individuals, entities, business deals and connections now under scrutiny. The Australian Federal Police have declared that the money-trail, business associations, “straw men”, business partners, and funds flowing in and out are being probed — which includes voice-recorded transcripts, emails and telephone messages now in their custody.

According to the publication, the Australian government has seized or frozen accounts and assets belonging to many entities and individuals tied, directly or indirectly, to Gupta — including firms in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia — and is said to be expanding its focus to India via cooperation with the Indian government. This is due to Amit Gupta’s significant financial holdings, transactions and dealings with various Indian entities, including companies such as Coromandel International and Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers. In India, multiple government departments are scrutinising his business arrangements and financial affairs, including the Income Tax Department of India, which issued multiple income-tax notices to Gupta and his family between 22 March 2022 and 7 July 2022 totalling more than ₹1,700 crore.

Gupta also faces a ₹700 crore fraud case in India concerning the real-estate firm Sunland Projects Pvt Ltd, involving an improper 33.33% share transfer and the striking-off of a loan — though this is not directly tied to the Australian Federal Police case. According to Business Insider Africa, in 2019 Agrifields DMCC, together with two other entities, acquired Baobab Mining & Chemicals Corporation — a phosphate plant in Senegal.

In 2022, The Hindu reported that Coromandel International, part of the Murugappa Group, bought 45% of Baobab Mining & Chemicals Corporation (Gupta’s entity) for ₹150 crore and advanced a further US$9.7 million as a loan. Global media through 2022, 2023 and 2024 — including investigative journalist Nick McKenzie — released reports that detailed the worldwide criminal probes, travel bans and other allegations of fraud, forgery and corporate crime facing Gupta.

Following these developments, two of Gupta’s major business associates have scaled back or terminated their partnerships with him. These include the Philphos (Salvador Zamora II-controlled) entity (with business dealings with Gupta dropping by 99% since 2023, per public records) and Coromandel International, which has since acquired 72% of Baobab International and is reportedly planning to buy out Gupta entirely.

Despite this, Coromandel International continues to source rock phosphate and other raw materials from Gupta — including from Algeria and his plant in Senegal — for reasons that remain unclear.
Publicly available data and trade logs suggest a longstanding trading relationship between Gupta and Coromandel, with funds transferred from Coromandel International to Gupta-linked entities likely totalling billions of dollars since the early 2000s — including at least US$334 million (approximately ₹2,850 crore) in the last year according to Trademo and regulatory filings.
As noted by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), in 2008 “When the world price rose to almost $400 in 2008, Getax was paying as little as $43 per metric tonne.”
Gupta’s largest revenue stream — at least in 2008 — was Coromandel

International, and trade data indicate that this continues to be the case today. Updates on Amit Gupta, Agrifields DMCC, the Indian government, the Income Tax Department of India, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian government and INTERPOL’s allegations against him will appear in forthcoming reports.
Disclaimer: All media outlets referenced — including the Sydney Morning Heraldand ABC are duly cited and accessible via the highlighted links.